Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 352 (350): A Clash of Titans

The date was June 1, 2001.

The morning light of early summer shines across the land of China.

The light also shone on newspapers that still smelled of fresh ink.

On this day, all the major newspapers across the country, from People's Daily, Guangming Daily, China Film News, and Wenhui Daily, to local newspapers such as Yangcheng Evening News, Beijing Evening News, Yangtze Evening Post, and Qianjiang Evening News, unanimously reported the same shocking news on the front page of their culture, entertainment, and even finance sections: Chinese cinema has officially entered the "blockbuster era"!
……

The most eye-catching headline on the front page of the China Film News was: "Hero Sets Sail, Museum Breaks Ground: The Era of Chinese Film Blockbusters Has Arrived!"

The article begins by stating: "While people were still savoring the joy of 1999, the 'first year of the revival of Chinese films,' and marveling at the success of films such as 'Happy Family' and 'A Little Thing Called First Love' in terms of genre exploration and market operation, just two years later, Chinese filmmakers, with astonishing ambition, raised the industry's benchmark to an unprecedented height."

The report provided detailed information about the two "frontrunners":

"The highly anticipated martial arts epic 'Hero,' directed by internationally renowned director Zhang Yimou, quietly began preparations in April of this year."

It is reported that the film's total investment reached 2.5 million yuan, setting a new record for domestic film investment.

The film boasts a 'dream team' including top stars from the Chinese film industry such as Li Lianjie, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Chen Daoming, and Donnie Yen.

Back in April, renowned Japanese costume designer Emi Wada, who won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for "Ran," joined the production team to create costumes for the characters that combined historical accuracy with artistic beauty.

In May, a large art team moved into Hengdian World Studios in Zhejiang Province and began intensive set construction work, including the core scenes of the "Chess Hall" and "Library," as well as a large-scale renovation of the existing "Qin Palace," in order to create a magnificent Warring States period atmosphere that matches Director Zhang's aesthetic vision.

The subsequent reports, however, caused an even bigger sensation:

However, "Hero" is not alone. In May, another domestic blockbuster with an even more astonishing investment, "Night at the Museum," has also quietly entered the substantive preparation stage.

According to key figures in the project, the production cost of "Night at the Museum" is set at 2.26 million yuan, but its unique feature is that the total investment in the construction of the real-life sets for filming (i.e., the core project of the first phase of "Jackie Chan's Happy Garden") is also as high as 2.16 million yuan.

This means that the total investment associated with this project reached a staggering 4.42 million yuan!

This film is directed by Wang Sheng, a young director who has repeatedly created market miracles in recent years and the head of Shengying Media. He has also successfully invited international action superstar Jackie Chan to participate in the project. Jackie Chan will not only lead his world-renowned "Jackie Chan Stunt Team" to be responsible for action design, but will also be tied to this project with an innovative salary and profit-sharing model.

Currently, the production team has dispatched multiple research teams to museums, historical sites, and representative mountains and forests across the country to find visual inspiration and filming locations for the grand 'Museum of Chinese Civilization' in the film.

……

One stone caused a thousand waves!

The concept of "investing hundreds of millions in a single film!" brought an unprecedented shock to China in 2001.

It is not just a number, but a powerful signal, marking a qualitative leap in China's film industry system, capital boldness, and industrial ambition.

Commentators from major newspapers seized this opportunity to conduct in-depth analyses of the development of China's film industry.

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The cultural commentary section of Guangming Daily published a special article entitled "From the 'Year of Rejuvenation' to the 'Era of Blockbusters' - On How Market-Oriented Reforms Have Fostered a New Landscape for Chinese Cinema".

The article systematically reviews the box office and critical success of domestic films since 1999, represented by films such as "Happy Family," arguing that it was a "victory of content" and "the foundation for market confidence." The real turning point is generally considered to be the "Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Film Industry" jointly issued by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and the Ministry of Culture in June 2000.

The article analyzes: "The issuance of the 'Opinions' is like a starting gun, completely untying the institutional and mechanism shackles that have bound the Chinese film industry for many years."

It explicitly proposes to encourage private capital to enter all areas of film production, distribution, and screening; to vigorously promote the reform of the cinema chain system and break regional monopolies; and to simplify film review procedures to stimulate creative vitality.

These measures have yielded remarkable results over the past year.

The establishment and rapid development of the "China Film Prosperity" inter-provincial cinema chain, along with the proliferation of modern multiplex cinemas, has greatly improved the viewing environment, expanded market capacity, and provided potential revenue-generating opportunities for high-investment films.

The liberalization of film production has enabled private giants like Shengying Media to quickly integrate resources, attract international capital and talent, and dare to manage mega-projects like "Night at the Museum." The implementation of distribution pilot programs has also given films more diverse market access possibilities.

……

The Economic Information Daily, on the other hand, took an industrial economics approach and published an article titled "The Capital Logic and Industrial Upgrading Behind the 'Blockbuster Competition'".

The article points out that "the emergence of 'Hero' and 'Night at the Museum' is not accidental. It is an inevitable stage of industrial upgrading that Chinese films will go through under the joint impetus of the 'invisible hand' of the market and the 'visible hand' of policy."

"Hero" relies on director Zhang Yimou's international reputation, the pre-sale market in Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas, and the desire of domestic companies to enhance their brands (rumored to be that a domestic company invested a huge amount of money).

"Night at the Museum" showcases the innovative business model of "film and television IP - real-world cultural tourism - capital cycle" built by Wang Sheng and his Shengying Media. Its huge investment is not only focused on the box office of the film, but also on the long-term and stable cultural tourism revenue brought by "Jackie Chan Happy Park" after the film is no longer showing.

Both of these models transcend the traditional film industry's reliance on box office revenue, representing a more modern and diversified industrial mindset.

……

On the internet, although online forums were still in their infancy at this time, related news on the entertainment sections of portal websites such as Sina and Sohu, as well as on the nascent movie BBS, sparked heated discussions among netizens.

"My God! 2.5 million! More than 4 million! How many 'My Sassy Girl' movies could that make?"

"Zhang Yimou + All-Star, is this the start of an Oscar run?"

"Wang Sheng is amazing! He managed to get Jackie Chan involved in such a huge project! And it's a fantasy theme, it sounds incredibly exciting!"

"Is this going to challenge 'Hero'? That's great! Competition drives progress!"

"Hopefully, it won't just be about big scenes; the story needs to be well-told as well. But in any case, the fact that they dare to invest so much money in making a blockbuster shows that Chinese cinema is truly financially strong and has the confidence to succeed!"

"Looking forward to it! I hope both films are successful and outshine Hollywood blockbusters!"

The reaction within the industry was more complex.

Some veteran filmmakers are both excited and worried.

The encouraging thing is that Chinese films finally have the financial strength to compete with mid-range Hollywood productions; the worrying thing is whether the market can support such high investment.
If we fail, will it damage the confidence that has just been cultivated in the industry?
In traditional film production bases such as Beijing Film Studio and Shanghai Film Studio, as well as newly emerging private companies, there is more of a restless energy fueled by encouragement.

Many young directors and producers saw the future direction in this, realizing that the "ceiling" of Chinese films has been significantly raised, and the boundaries of genre exploration and industrial production have been expanded.

(End of this chapter)